Was (Not Was) “Born to Laugh at Tornadoes” 1983. Synthy-art rock that spans a bunch of genres with vocalists ranging from Madonna to Mel Tormé to Ozzy Osbourne. This record is another in the “should-it-stay-or-should-it-go” pile and it’s the first time I’ve ever listened to the LP despite it being 40 years old; I’m pretty sure the only song I know by Was (Not Was) is the kinda-novelty hit “Walk the Dinosaur” from ’87. Born to Laugh at Tornadoes is the Detroit-based duo’s second album and, despite receiving positive critical reviews, it only went to #134 on the US charts. The record is truly all over the place so there’s some decent tracks but also several that are not so great. My favorites include “Shake Your Head (Let’s Go to Bed),” a quirky Devo-esque synth-forward pop track featuring Ozzy and Madonna (at least on a few of the versions – she denied permission to use her vocals on the ’92 re-release so Kim Basinger of all people recorded instead; the ’92 version went to #4 in the UK), “Bow Wow Wow” sung by the prolific longtime artist Mitch Ryder and the weird and funky “Man vs. the Empire Brain Building.” “The Party Broke Up” is truly bizarre, incorporating hard rock, bad 80’s white boy rap and quirky, nerdy art rock but is notable for featuring Marshall Crenshaw on synth and vocals, plus MC5’s Wayne Kramer on guitar. “Smile” is not bad – it’s a new wavey pop song with The Knack’s Doug Fieger singing. I’m not fond of the opener “Knocked Down, Made Small (Treated Like a Rubber Ball)” nor the swingy, sappy r&b track
“(Return to the Valley of) Out Come the Freaks” which is part of a trilogy of tracks that span Was (Not Was) records from ’81-’87, nor the bland 80’s-styled “Professor Night” – oh yeah, there’s totally an epic sax solo on that one. The album closer “Zaz Turned Blue” sung by Mel Tormé is, not surprisingly, a loungey string-forward ballad that only fits because the rest of the record is so weird and eclectic. I think this one is going to go.